The present invention relates to a video recording/playback apparatus in which advertisement content is received and recorded (stored) while broadcast content or internet content is also received and in which the advertisement content can be played back when necessary.
In accordance with the development of satellite broadcasting and the like, many broadcasting channels are provided. A system has been desired which enables viewers to watch broadcast content at their convenience. In order to realize this, VCRs (video cassette recorders) and apparatuses with hard disk drives mounted therein have been developed as video recording apparatuses for recording broadcast content. In accordance with this development, apparatuses with a feature of skipping advertisement content (commercials) have been introduced (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 11-127411). Particularly, in video recording apparatuses using hard disk drives, even though the advertisement content is recorded, the advertisement-content skipping feature has been considerably improved with the aid of high-speed playback and high-speed seeking features.
The introduction of and improvement in video recording apparatuses in which a large amount of broadcast content can be recorded and stored has enabled the advertisement content broadcast among the broadcast content to be skipped during playback, even though the advertisement content is recorded along with the broadcast content.
Under such conditions in which the advertisement-content skipping feature is available, sales promotion by means of broadcasting with simple advertisement content has lost its effectiveness.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a personal commercial (i.e. advertisement) bank system which functions as a new sales promotion tool for effectively presenting advertisement content to end users.
To this end, there is provided a personal commercial bank system comprising:
a database system which comprises data comprising a broadcasting time, a broadcasting channel number, and a sponsor name of an advertisement program; and
a video recording apparatus which comprises a video recording unit for receiving, as a reception signal, a broadcast signal comprising a broadcast content and an advertisement content and for recording the reception signal;
the video recording unit comprising communication means for communicating with the database system;
the video recording unit receiving, from the database system via said communication means, the broadcasting time and the broadcasting channel number of the advertisement program to be recorded, the video recording unit recording, in accordance with the broadcasting time and the channel number of the advertisement program to be recorded, the advertisement content corresponding to the advertisement program to be recorded.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiment with reference to the attached drawings.